Declan Rice sets sights on becoming England captain and targets World Cup glory in Qatar this year
DECLAN RICE dreams of one day being England captain and backed the Three Lions to bring it home in Qatar.
The West Ham ace, 23, revealed last summer’s “horrible” Euro final loss was the lowest point in his career.
But the ambitious midfielder reckons early exits are behind Gareth Southgate’s stars and they can “get over the line” at the World Cup.
Recalling England’s shootout defeat to Italy last July, Rice told : “It was ours to lose. We thought it was going to be our day.
“Even thinking about it now, it’s awful, it’s terrible. We were so close to making history.
“I was in shock. Seeing Italy lifting the trophy was horrible. I was angry, sad, gutted, everyone was.”
If Rice has any lasting scars from that day, there have been no sign of them in his Hammers performances so far this season.
And he is confident the shared experience can drive England on to World Cup glory this winter — for the ones who remain.
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He said: “We have proven we can go far in tournaments. Early exits are past us now. We know what’s required but the next step is putting it all together on the day and getting it over the line.
“From the Euros squad to the one that’s going to be in Qatar, it might be completely different.
“There’s younger lads coming through performing week in, week out and there’s older lads who might not be performing as well, so there’ll be a real mix of players which will stand us in good stead.”
Rice is officially Hammers’ vice-skipper but has worn the armband in all but two of his starts this season — due to club captain Mark Noble’s lack of involvement.
The 27-cap ace is yet to be invited into Southgate’s leadership group with Harry Kane, Harry Maguire & Co saying he will “leave it to the big dogs” for now.
But he revealed a burning desire to lead his country one day when asked if it is on his radar.
He said: “Definitely. Even to just have the armband on for a game.
“I’m young at the moment and there’s a lot of lads who are captains at their club and play for England as well so it’s tough.
“But as I get older I would love to put the England armband on. That’d be special.”
Neville was part of England’s perennially under-achieving “Golden Generation” of the 2000s.
Stars including Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard have since blamed their repeated international failures on club cliques.
But Rice says there is nothing of the sort among the current crop and credits Southgate and assistant Steve Holland for keeping it at bay.
He explained: “For some reason, every time we go away with England, the big lads have played each other.
“So it’s like a Manchester derby the day before we meet, they play against each other but then they meet up and it’s normal again.
“Gareth has really got that right. He’s been really good with the group and Holland as well.
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“There’s not one bad lad in that England squad, you can sit with anyone and talk, everyone is great and I feel that’s why we’ve done well as a team.
“Playing with each other at younger age groups helped too.”
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